Disability discrimination and harassment

[Rayna]

I have put in a grievance with my employer regarding the way they have managed my mental health illness in the workplace. I was diagnosed in July 2020 with General Anxiety Disorder and Depression. I returned to work after furlough in August 2020, having advised my line manager and HR about my diagnosis. From the first day back, I was subjected to extremely stressful situations which could have been avoided. I attempted to deal with these as rationally as possible, but my line manager kept crying, which made me feel like I was the problem. After being back at work for a week, I had my first panic attack. This was very frightening as I'd never had one before, I thought I was going to die. My GP signed me off work for 2 weeks. My employer did not contact me to ask how I was doing, or put anything in place for my return, other than agreeing to my request for a phased return for 2 weeks. When I returned to work, I had panic attacks every day that I was at work. These could have been avoided if I had received a stress risk assessment and reasonable adjustments were put in place for me. Each time I had a panic attack, I had to go to my car as there was nowhere private that I could go to. No one checked on me either during the attack or afterwards. At the end of September, I was advised that there would be a change to the staff that was in the office with me. This caused me to have a panic attack as the team leader that was coming into my office had previously made unprofessional comments about me, in front of my colleagues. The panic attack I had was one of the worst I have experienced. My GP signed me off work for one month. I emailed my line manager and HR, to explain what had happened, how the panic attack affected me and advised that I was near breaking point. I did not receive a reply from either of them. I did not receive any communication during the month that I was off work.




A meeting was arranged in November. The morning of the meeting, HR cancelled the meeting with the facilitator, but failed to contact me. I had wanted the chance to explain how work was making my mental health illness worse (panic disorder diagnosed in August 2020) and to look at ways they could assist me back into work. The meeting was not rearranged until April 2021.




I requested a referral to Occupational Health, and this was processed in Dec 2020. I did not receive a copy of the referral. I requested this recently, and was shocked to find that HR had given a very biased and inaccurate account. She said that they were working in the dark as I was unable to communicate with them. This is untrue, as I have multiple emails where I have explained what my symptoms were. I have done everything I can to recover, (medication, therapy, GP support) but work has made me feel undervalued, isolated and humiliated.




I have been harassed by a colleague who told the team a irrelevant and untrue story. This has turned my colleagues against me, creating a hostile environment. Any reasonable adjustments that my employer puts in place, will not work if I am working in a hostile, unsupportive environment. My mental health is being managed but I have had times (including currently) where I am monitored by my GP. The story is on record from a meeting held with my line manager. I asked if any action would be taken, the answer was no.




I finally gave up trying to resolve this and put in a formal grievance. I received an email advising they wanted to discuss terminating my employment with a financial package.




My questions are:




Is this discrimination related to my disability? Is it breach of contract or duty of care? If they do not uphold the grievance, what do I do next?




Any assistance you can offer would be great, and I thank you in advance.

[ULA]

Please can I ask some questions in order to able to consider your question about disability discrimination:

1. Has your GP, other than medication, advised any reasonable adjustments that your employer could make in your work environment to assist your condition?
2. Have you requested any reasonable adjustments to be made? If so what was the outcome?
3. What was the outcome of the OH referral, did they recommend any reasonable adjustments and if so what were they and what did the company say about their ability to implement any or all of them.

If they do not uphold the grievance then you would have to appeal.

In the meantime I am guessing from what you have said that the company wants "to discuss terminating my employment with a financial package." indicates they are looking for you to enter into a Settlement Agreement (SA), which if you do not know what this is, it is a document which sets out the terms of what the company is going to pay you as "compensation" for you giving up any rights you have to make a claim against your employer for terminating your contract. Part of the process of signing an SA is that you will be required to take independent legal advice from an employment law specialist. Part of their job is to ensure that the "compensation" being offered is at the correct level given the circumstances and the rights that you are giving up to bring any further claims. If they go not feel you are being offered enough "compensation" then they would have to negotiate with your employer to increase the sum being offered.

Most employment advisers have a standard payment for providing this advice which is between £350 and £500 which is generally the rate that the employer offers to pay. This is usually enough to cover the costs if the SA is straight forward and there is not much back and forth negotiating terms on your behalf.

[Rayna]

Hi, thank you for responding. My GP and therapist recommended working from home or a phased return, a private place if I have a panic attack, support from a trusted colleague, prior notice of any changes/meetings that involve me and regular one to ones with line manager to deal with any barriers during phased return.
My employer is not able to provide a private place. I requested and they have designated a parking space, 6 week phased return is agreed. The problem I have is that my colleagues are negative and hostile towards me. My therapist is advising that I would be in danger of a breakdown if I am not supported at work.
The OH report recommended
• A graduated return to full hours
• Regular breaks throughout the day (more than usual for a temporary period of time)
• Should there be an exacerbation of her condition, to take time away from her work desk to recover in
a private space

• To be given time off to attend medical or therapeutic appointments
• To have the support of a trusted work colleague or ‘buddy’ who she can speak to and take support
from should there be an exacerbation of the health problem when attending work
• To have a well-paced and manageable workload in the early stages
• To have regular one to ones with her manager to ensure she is coping well and has the opportunity
to discuss any barriers or concerns

they have agreed these except the private place. There is no colleague that I feel I can be vulnerable with. Panic attacks are ugly and embarrassing.

[ULA]

Thank you for your response. So, it seems from your replies that a number of the reasonable adjustments have been agreed by your employer and I presume that the private space is potentially a space issue?

When have / when will, the adjustments be put in place?

If there is a not a trusted work colleague or "buddy," could consideration be given to someone from HR or another manager being "available to speak to and take support from should there be an exacerbation of the health problem when attending worK?" Is maybe what is being described is support that will available ongoing not necessarily for when you have panic attack .

Has the company said anything about a grievance meeting or just responded with saying they want to discuss termination with a financial package?

[Rayna]

Thank you for responding, much appreciated. There is much more to the issues at my workplace. They are doing the bare minimum and I’ve been waiting since August last year. There is no one at work that I would feel comfortable going to. My department are hostile and have been since I’ve been unwell. My manager does not contact me or keep me updated with team news.
HR is not supportive of mental health. Communication from HR is blunt.
I have asked for the grievance to go ahead as I don’t want a settlement at this stage, or to lose my job. I have not been supported during my illness, but I do enjoy my job. I will find work relationships difficult but I can remain professional. Being in work is good for my recovery.
Would you say it is discrimination and harassment under the equality law? Thank you

[ULA]

Hopefully the next action from HR will be to set up a meeting to hear your grievance.

Potentially there may be an issue of discrimination, however if you enjoy your job and want to remain there then the focus should be on trying to ensure that the reasonable adjustments, as recommended by OH, are being put in place (albeit the quiet space may be one they cannot accommodate).

[Rayna]

The grievance cannot be heard by HR, as they are involved in the harassment. It will be heard by someone else later this month. The reasonable adjustments cannot work until the harassment is dealt with. My GP & mental health counsellor has advised me (& signed me off) not to return to work if the environment is hostile and unsupportive. There’s a lot more to this, but I’m hesitant to write it publicly. I appreciate your responses. The quiet space is to do with available space but they made this available for another team member. This was after they had said I could use it. It is really hard having to go to my car, as panic/anxiety attacks are frightening.

[ULA]

I was not saying that HR should hear the grievance but they should communicate with you about the arrangements, which should be carried out by someone who is of the correct level of seniority and who has not been involved previously.

What has your GP said about your ability to attend the grievance and will the company need to consider any adjustments for you to be able to attend, if not in person over a video platform such as Zoom.

[Rayna]

Hi, thank you for your response. My GP is very supportive and monitoring me throughout this process. The grievance will be done over zoom and I have someone with me. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again

[Rayna]

Update. Still waiting for grievance outcome.

[ULA]

I would suggest that, given the length of time since the grievance which I presume as in Aug/Sept, that you email whoever heard the grievance and ask to know when you may be contacted with the outcome.

[Rayna]

Update. Still waiting for grievance outcome.

Thank you for your reply, I have asked them numerous times to let me know when I can expect an outcome. They keep changing the date. So tired of it all.

[ULA]

What has the date changed to now?

What does their internal greivance policy state about the timescales they will respond with the outcome to a greivance meeting? I am assuming they are well outside this by now.

Potentially you could respond to the correspondence providing the new date by saying that given the amount of time and the continuing changes to the date, if you do not have the respond by the new date given, you will be looking to raise your grievance higher in the organisation which will also include the length of time it has now taken to handle the grievance process.